When the Dead Come Home (The Veil Diaries Book 8)

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Ally?” Lips brushed against the back of my neck.

  “I don’t know if I want to be Ally yet,” I muttered as I tried to open my eyes again.

  Asher shifted behind me, his arm pulling away from between my breasts.

  I mumbled a protest. “I was cuddling with that.”

  “If you’re not Ally, you don’t get to cuddle with me,” he whispered.

  I groaned. “Fine, I’m Ally. Give it back.”

  Instead, he pulled his leg from between my legs. Not ready to face the world yet, I rolled to my other side and snuggled against his chest.

  His arms moved around me as his nose buried in my hair. We stayed like that long enough for my head to stop throbbing.

  “Where are we?” I muttered, enjoying the feel of him.

  “In my room at Miles’ house. After I dealt with two of the shifters, I found you unconscious and Hades covered in blood on the trail. The third found you, I’m guessing?”

  I nodded, brushing my nose against the hollow of his throat. “Yeah. Hades protected me.” That’s when it hit me. I pulled back and looked up at him, panic rising in my chest. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s okay, he’s not hurt at all. He’s down at the foot of the bed,” he assured me.

  I lifted my head and found my big, wrinkly baby out cold and lying on his back. Sighing, I relaxed into the bed again. “He fought the wolf off. I was so fucking scared for him.” I buried my face in his chest.

  He held me closer. “As soon as we got here and started cleaning him up, we realized none of the blood was his.”

  I looked up at him. “Really? None of it?”

  His eyes were warm as his hand moved to hold my face. “He was really lucky not to be killed. He’s huge, but he can’t match a werewolf. How did you two get away?”

  “I knocked the wolf out.” I shoved my hair out of my face.

  He frowned down at me. “How?”

  “Remember when I shoved the ghosts out of my class last year?”

  His frown disappeared. “Yeah. That gold blast that we couldn’t figure out.”

  “That’s how. I threw the wolf into a tree.” The sound of the crunch ran through my head. “There was this sound… and it didn’t get up.”

  His eyes unfocused. “She might have broken a bone when she hit. That would be the only thing to slow her down.”

  I didn’t even feel guilty. The bitch went after my dog, she deserved a broken leg. “Are you okay?”

  He grinned down at me. “Yeah, from the way I felt when I shifted back, I won.”

  I blinked up at him. “So, you don’t know? You really don’t remember what you do as a wolf?”

  He shook his head. “Not yet. Astrid said I’ll get there eventually, but I only get glimpses for now.”

  “So, how do you know you won?” I asked carefully.

  “I had the shit kicked out of me and I was near you,” he said, his eyes growing shadowed as he held my gaze. “I thought for a minute I had attacked you.”

  “It was some brown wolf.” I ran my fingers over his chest.

  His hands moved to hold my face. “I almost lost you.”

  “But you didn’t,” I whispered back.

  His lips found mine. I sighed as he feathered small kisses on my lips over and over. I ran my hands further up his chest, feeling his heat and muscle. He growled deep in his throat a split second before his kiss grew harder. I parted my lips before he slipped in and took over. I met him kiss for kiss, stroke for stroke until my mind was spinning. He growled into my mouth a heartbeat before his hands wrapped around my wrists and took my hands off him.

  He pulled back, breathing heavily as he met my eyes. “You can’t touch me.”

  I blinked up at him, still trying to string two thoughts together. “Huh?”

  He shook his head. “When you touch me when I’m kissing you, I want to mark you. That’s the trigger.”

  My heart ached as I closed my eyes. I wanted to touch him — hell, I wanted more than just touching him — but if this was what he needed… “I can try to keep my hands to myself.”

  “We can test it out, I guess.” He bent his neck and softly brushed his lips against mine again. I almost instantly sighed and reached for him again.

  He pulled back, cursing.

  My face burned as I realized I couldn’t stop myself. “Sorry.”

  He met my eyes, longing filling every line on his face. The silver thread was back, weaving through the blues. “Hold on to the headboard.”

  His order sent scorching heat to pool between my legs. I pulled back from him and moved to my back. I slipped my hands up between the pillows and gripped the bottom of the headboard.

  His eyes held mine as he reached above me and locked them to the wood. My breath caught at his grip. Shit… that was…

  He leaned down and kissed me again. Softly, carefully, until my brain was scrambled all over again. When he lifted his head, he was smirking. “That works.”

  It did. It really fucking did. I smiled as I went for another kiss.

  He pulled back.

  My heart dropped.

  “It’s not that I don’t want to, honey,” he whispered, his arm tightening around me. “There’s something I need to tell you about werewolves and humans.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  He swallowed hard as his eyes met mine. “You know how dangerous I am.”

  I nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

  He licked his lips. “I… If we ever…”

  I took a guess. “Bang?”

  He chuckled softly. “Make love, yeah. There’s some requirements for me.”

  “Requirements?” Both of my eyebrows shot into my hairline.

  He cringed. “More, prerequisites.”

  I relaxed in the bed again. “Well, condoms are on my list.”

  He relaxed a little more. “Mine too. But first…” He sighed. “Since you’re human and I’m a wolf, well, I can do a lot of damage if I lose control.”

  He suddenly had all my attention. “You mean, during sex?”

  He nodded, his face tense. “I could break something of yours or even kill you.”

  I bit back a smile. Bad, dirty mind! Bad! I forced myself back to the seriousness of this talk. “Yeah, I guess you could.” I smiled. “Be blunt and just tell me.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Our first time together, sexually, will have to be… with several wolves in the room.”

  I snorted. He had to be kidding. I started laughing. “Very funny.”

  As his face stayed serious, my laughter faded.

  “You’re kidding, right?” I asked, my stomach knotting.

  He shook his head. “It’s the only way we can.”

  I pulled away and sat up against the headboard. “The only way we can have sex is to put on a show for other wolves?”

  He sat up and faced me. “It’s not a show, Ally. It’s a safety measure.”

  I shook my head, stunned.

  “Lexie, I can lift a car,” he stated. “Now imagine what I could do to you if I… got really carried away.”

  I tried to force myself to think.

  “Ally, packs have this down to a science. Over time humans have had their throats torn out, their pelvises shattered, or even been turned,” he explained. “I will not do that to you.”

  Okay, yeah. If what he was saying was true, then… “Okay, it makes sense, but, fuck.”

  He sighed. “I know.”

  I shook my head and was honest. “I don’t know if I can be naked and have sex in front of strangers.”

  His face didn’t change. “We don’t have to be visible.”

  “What?”

  His face turned pink. “We can be under blankets. But they do have to be in the room.”

  “Oh, well, that makes it better,” I muttered.

  “I would tell them to fuck off if I could, but… I don’t want to kill you.” His voice was tired as he sighed.

  I thought abo
ut it. Under a blanket? In front of people? It was too much to think about right now. “Look, let’s talk about it more when the time comes.”

  Relief softened the lines of his face. “Sounds like a good idea.”

  The room fell into thick silence. That was when my stomach decided to growl.

  “I’ve got to go make dinner.” He got to his feet, picked up his shirt from the floor, and headed for the door.

  “Isn’t it our date night?” I asked, still smiling.

  “That’s why I’m bringing it in here.” He opened the bedroom door. “It’s too busy out there with the last of the shifter families moving out. Hell, even Lucy moved out today.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Lucy left?”

  “Yeah, Miles hooked her up with a hotel room until she could get back on her feet.” Before he could shut the door, a wolf cub darted into the room. The tan and white cub bounded across the floor only to stumble and roll completely over to her side. She panted happily in her new spot.

  “Casey,” Asher chided with a smile. He left the doorway and went to get her. “You know you’re not allowed in this room.”

  She raised her butt and wiggled, obviously looking to play.

  Asher bent to pick her up and she darted between his legs and under the bed.

  I snorted as Asher went to the end of the bed and knelt down.

  “Casey, I’m not playing right now.” Asher disappeared as he looked under the bed.

  A small, adorable, high-pitched bark was his answer.

  “No.”

  Casey growled playfully.

  It was so fucking cute, I burst out laughing.

  Asher’s head popped up from the end of the bed. “Yeah, laugh it up. This is what it’s been like since I got here.”

  I continued laughing as Asher tried to get the pup out from under the bed. It took him promising to sneak her ice-cream before she’d come out and shift back to human. I was still laughing as he shut the door behind them.

  I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I could still feel dirt on the back of my neck, and it was bugging the crap out of me.

  After a nice long, hot shower, I went to the mirror and wiped the steam off. Damn. As a redhead I was pale. This summer, I had gotten enough sun with enough sunblock to get a slight glow going. But I couldn’t see it now. My skin was snow-like. The shadows under my eyes were darker than usual. It wasn’t the face I had this morning. What the hell happened? I turned away from the mirror and went to the bedroom. Snagging my phone, I headed to Asher’s dresser. Luckily, the guys had started leaving a drawer of my clothes in their rooms ever since Lucy moved in.

  “Lexie, how are things?” Uma’s voice was cheerful.

  “I somehow threw gold light at a wolf and knocked it away today,” I announced as I started to pull on a clean pair of cotton shorts.

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, and now I look like I’ve been sick for a month,” I muttered as I dug around in the drawer.

  There was a long silence on the phone. Long enough that I had pulled on a bra.

  “I’ll be there by tomorrow,” Uma stated. “Whatever you do, do not do it again.” She hung up the phone.

  Cursing, I put my phone down on the dresser and turned to an awake Hades. “That’d be easy if I knew what I was doing.” He gave me a half whimper. I sat down and started scratching his ears.

  After my evening with Asher, I opened the door to Rory’s house and walked into a war zone.

  Tara was on one side of the living room while Rory and Susan were on the couch trying to talk to her.

  “How could you lie to me?” Tara screamed. Her face was red and blotchy, her nose raw as tears fell down her face.

  I froze in the doorway.

  “Because we never wanted you to feel different or question if Rory loved you,” Susan answered honestly. “Rory is your father in every way that matters.”

  “No, he’s not!” Tara gasped, her breathing harsh. “He’s not my dad.”

  Rory got to his feet and moved toward her. “Breathe, baby.”

  That only made the tears fall faster. She jerked away from him before he could even hug her. Rory’s face dropped. I watched as his heart broke a bit. I fought to stay in place as Tara moved across the living room from them. That’s when they realized I was there.

  “Um, what happened?” I asked, already taking a good guess.

  “She found out today,” Rory said as Susan hugged Tara to her.

  “How?” It was out before I could stop it. It didn’t matter how, only that it happened.

  “Blood typing in biology,” Susan answered for Rory. Oh fuck…

  Tara pushed her mother away and scowled up at her. “She knew?”

  Rory came around the couch. “Tara, baby.”

  Tara pointed at me. “She knew I wasn’t yours!”

  Rory took a deep breath. “Yes—”

  “This is un-fucking-believable!” Tara sat down hard on the floor and sobbed into her hands. Hades moved out from behind me to go to her. Rory and Susan went to Tara. My chest ached for her, but I left them to comfort her. I’d only make it worse.

  I went upstairs but didn’t go to my room. I sat down at the top of the stairs and listened to Rory and Susan trying to get Tara to calm down and listen. But she wasn’t ready. Even I could tell from the stairway. My phone vibrated several times, but I didn’t answer. Tara’s heartbreaking sobs made it impossible to think about anything else. It went on for a couple of hours.

  Eventually, Tara came upstairs. I tried to think of something to say only to not find a word. She shot me a furious look before slamming her door behind her. Hades came up the stairs and demanded scratches.

  I wanted to be there for Tara, but our relationship wasn’t great. Not knowing what else to do, I went to my room.

  The sound of Tara’s sobbing drove a knife into my chest. I rolled over and checked the clock. It was past midnight. She was going to make herself sick. Sick of wondering if I should, I followed my instinct and got out of bed.

  When I stopped outside her door, I was carrying nausea meds, a water bottle, tissues, an ice pack, and my secret emergency chocolate stash. Taking a deep breath, I knocked gently on the door.

  The crying stopped. The door opened a crack. Her eyes were swollen, but the tears still flowed. Without a word, I held out the icepack to her. Eventually, she took it. Then I held out the tissues. She silently took those too. One item at a time, I handed her everything.

  “I know I can’t understand what you’re going through,” I said softly. “But that doesn’t mean you have to go through it alone.”

  A fresh set of tears rolled down her face. “You knew. He told you.”

  “Not really.” I swallowed hard. “I knew because you aren’t a necromancer.”

  She scowled at me. “You never told me.”

  “I didn’t want you to hurt,” I admitted. “I’m sorry.”

  “At least that explains why he treated you differently.” She shook her head and shut the door in my face.

  I cursed under my breath and headed for my bedroom. When I reached my door, I stopped. She was crying again. Should I? No… she doesn’t like me. I’d just make it worse… How would the guys handle this? I thought back over everything I’d learned from the guys since we met. Fuck it.

  I turned and knocked on the door again.

  “Go away!”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” I swallowed hard. “If it was me, I wouldn’t want to be alone right now. And I’m sure you don’t either.”

  “Fuck off!”

  “No. You are family, Tara,” I said, my voice firm and calm. “I’m here for you. I’ll be here for you; I’ll always be here for you. We might not get along, we might be too different, but you’re still family to me.” I sat down on the floor and braced my back on the wall beside her door. “I’ll be here all night, whether you open the door or not. I’m not leaving you alone.”

  Hades sat between my knees and watched me wait.
She never opened the door. But it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to leave her reaching for someone and have no one there reaching back.

  Chapter 10

  Wednesday Morning

  Lexie

  Cursing under my breath, I hurried into history and froze. Everyone’s head was down, their pencils scribbling across a sheet. Pop quiz. Fuck. I went to Mr. Jones’ desk and took the quiz he held out to me then took my seat.

  It was only the third day of school. Why the hell were we doing a quiz? I pulled out a pen and dropped my bag then began to speed read. Shit, shit, shit.

  Great time to sleep in, Lexie.

  I was five questions in before Mr. Jones broke the silence. “Time’s up, quizzes in.”

  I cursed and held my test to the person in front of me only to blink up at a familiar face. “I thought you weren’t coming this week?”

  Zeke looked worse than the last time I saw him. His beard was thicker, the shadows under his eyes darker. He looked about how I felt. He simply took my test, added it to his, then passed it forward before turning back to me.

  “Mr. Jones doesn’t do make up quizzes or tests,” he reminded me. The guy in the next row stared at Zeke, his eyes wide.

  “I’m so screwed,” I groaned before burying my face in my arms on the desk.

  The chair in front of me creaked. Leather and engine grease tickled my nose. “Why were you late?”

  I lifted my head in time to spot someone else trying to listen in. Both people to our left seemed intent on hearing our conversation. “You know that enormous secret Rory had?” That should be vague enough to confuse anyone listening.

  Zeke nodded.

  “It came to light yesterday.” I shoved my hair out of my face and met his slightly wider eyes. “I spent the night on the floor in the hallway outside the other bedroom.”

  He eyed me. “Why?”

  I lowered my voice to barely a whisper. “I didn’t want her to be alone if she didn’t want to be.”

  His face softened. “Fuck.”